What is the history of Zhang Jiaxiang in Chengdu?

There used to be two trees in Zhang Jiaxiang: one was Li Gui, in the Catholic Church; One is Gleditsia sinensis, beside the dumb bridge. These two trees are hundreds of years old, tall and vigorous, with lush foliage. Walking into Zhang Jiaxiang, you can see that there seem to be two huge green umbrellas between heaven and earth, which bring a green space to the alley. These two trees left a good impression on my childhood.

The Liriodendron in the Catholic Church is a unique landscape in Zhang Jiaxiang. Hundreds of crows perched on the tree. At dusk, hundreds of crows hover and glide overhead, like a returning plane landing for the second time. The scene is spectacular. "Wow-wow-wow" cries, accompanied by the ups and downs of crows, the treetops are gradually covered by crows, and the branches and leaves are shrouded in darkness. Until nightfall, the alley was quiet again.

In the early morning, the sky was dark and crows in the trees were noisy. Crows are restless in the trees, as if calling each other to get up in the morning. So, there are early crows, first three or five, then seven or eight, flying away from the treetops and circling around the treetops at low altitude. Then, another large group of crows took off and circled the treetops with the cry of "Wow-Wow". In an instant, more crows took off, and the sky at the top of the tree was like a billowing dark cloud, sometimes gathering and sometimes drifting away. The crow flew with a cry and then floated away like a dark cloud blown by the wind.

There is a small stone arch bridge at the eastern end of Zhang Jiaxiang, which is called "Arch Back Bridge" by the people. In the early 1960s, a blind and dumb printing factory was built here, which people used to call the "dumb bridge". This is a small river flowing from north to south, and Hedong is a vast field with slight ups and downs. The west bank of the "dumb bridge" is a small flat-topped soil slope. There is a tall Gleditsia sinensis tree on the soil slope, which is densely covered with Gleditsia sinensis. Standing under the tree, the view is wide and the weather is fine. You can see the water tower, teaching building and countless tower arms standing in the eastern suburb of Far Telecom Engineering College. Even in the hot summer, the tree is a cool world. "predecessors planted trees, and later generations enjoyed the cool." Because of this tree, this river has become the favorite place for the residents of Zhangjiaxiang and Workers' Village to wash clothes and play, and it has also become a small market for farmers to sell vegetables.

Below the slope are several moist bright red sandstone belts. The river is clear and shallow, and the river is often full of women who wash clothes and vegetables. At that time, soap was not used for washing clothes, and it was still a rare thing. The women came to the river with wooden mats full of clothes, then spread some soap feet on the acacia tree with a bamboo pole, mashed them with a laundry pestle, and rubbed them repeatedly with clothes in the jar. After rubbing, the woman stood in the water as deep as her feet and floated her clothes back and forth in the water. The posture of washing clothes is very soft, as if performing a dance instead of rinsing. After rinsing, put the clothes on the red sandstone strip and beat them with a wooden pestle. I saw the wooden pestle flying and splashing, and the sound of the wooden pestle came and went, very rhythmic and rhythmic. This time Gang Po left, another wave came again. This river is always busy.

Tiger stove xiwozi

The gate of the Catholic Church is a Chinese-style concierge, and a black painted wooden plaque with the three characters "Catholic Church" gilded on it is hung on the lintel. There is a small tea shop near its door, in which a tiger stove is built to burn tea. At that time, many people did not boil water at home. First of all, they saved firewood. Second, the water boiled in an iron pot is not suitable for making tea. Thirdly, if they want to drink tea, they will go to the teahouse. Occasionally, guests come to the house and go to the door of the Catholic church to turn on the water.

The boss of boiling water is a tall and thin woman with a crooked mouth. She wears a blue cloth around her waist all year round and treats people very kindly. Tiger stove is very big, just enough for a dozen copper pots. It was covered with a steel plate about 2 cm thick, and seven or eight round holes were opened to put copper pots. There is an urn made of petrol cans next to the stove, which is filled with water. It is heated by the residual heat of the tiger stove, and the water in the urn is always hot. Convenient and economical, it can be added to a teapot and supplied to people who buy hot water.

My home is close to the Catholic church. When there are guests at home, dad will give us a penny and let us get a bottle of boiled water. There are many people who turn on the water, so they put the bamboo shell water bottles there and arrange shifts. The female boss is very busy at this time, and a pot of boiling water can be exchanged for a bottle of 5 kg at most. There are seven or eight teapots on the stove, and the fire in the middle seat is the fiercest. When the water boiled, the lid of the teapot jumped open with a bang, the water overflowed, the iron plate sizzled, and a white milky mist rose. It's really hard to mention which pot. The female boss quickly lifted the open teapot, lifted the teapot that was not opened on the side and put it on that seat, busy mixing boiling water with a water bottle. However, she is busy and orderly, and a series of actions such as carrying pots and mixing water are clean and neat. In a short time, she can go home with bamboo shell water bottles.

As time went by, in the early 1980s, the tea shop in front of the Catholic Church became more and more prosperous. A group of retired workers gather here to drink tea every day, and the seats in the tea shop are even placed on the street. Some retired people are friends of Sichuan Opera. After dinner, they gathered at the entrance of the Catholic church to drink tea and put on a Sichuan opera. When Tan Xing was strong, some people encouraged them to sing. Interest, the playmate introduced by everyone, began to sing at the top of their lungs. Although it was only a oratorio, it won applause.

Tea shop owners certainly like these Sichuan opera friends to set up a venue, and their business will be booming. The opera fans were dissatisfied with the oratorio, and after discussion, they set up a drum team. In the evening, after the tea drinkers and opera fans were seated, the drummer began to beat the drums and the violinist played the huqin to create an atmosphere. In advance, the friends will report their own programs and start singing as soon as the gongs and drums ring. At first, the playmates just amused themselves. Unexpectedly, as soon as the venue was pulled up, this theater attracted many fans who turned to the street to watch the fun, and surrounded the entrance of the tea shop. The boss was overjoyed, holding a lamp outside the door and setting several coffee tables, which were still full.

The playmates at the entrance of the Catholic church became famous and often invited foreign playmates to make guest appearances. One night, a luxury tour bus came from Zhang Jiaxiang and stopped at the side of the road. A group of foreigners filed out of the bus and went straight into the tea shop. They were so happy that they gave up their seats. The translator tells everyone that foreigners like to listen to Sichuan opera and want to know the folk customs of Chengdu. When the boss moved out all the bamboo chairs, it was still not enough to sit on, and some playmates who gave up their seats had to stand by and listen.

Since then, luxury buses have come from time to time. One day, three buses came, and the teahouse was crowded with people inside and outside. Without seats, many foreigners became "station guests", surrounded the tea shop twice, listened to friends singing with relish, and kept flashing their cameras. From time to time, foreigners speak half-baked Mandarin and ask about something. Foreigners' enthusiasm and curiosity about Sichuan Opera infected Zhang Jiaxiang people and made Zhang Jiaxiang people queue up after dinner.

Litangbing hotpot

Everyone in Lao Zhang's hometown knows "Li Sugar Cake", and his stall is often placed in front of the Catholic Church. He has never left in his life. The entrance of the Catholic church is a lively place, where drugs and monkey tricks are held. There are several primary schools nearby. As soon as school is over, the student dolls love to guard Li's stall. Plum sugar cake has good technology and many patterns. On the steel plate, you can draw flowers, birds, fish, insects and golden dragons with boiled syrup ... These craft candy cakes are inserted in the handle of straw, which is very attractive to adults and dolls who like to see strange things. There is a turntable turning candy cakes beside his desk. You can turn with a flick of the arrow, and you can get what you want when you stop. If you are a bird, you have to be a bird; If it's a monkey, you have to be a monkey. Student dolls love to turn over candy cakes in the stalls and try their luck with a little money.

But the most attractive thing is the golden dragon he painted. It is said that he used half a catty of brown sugar, which is vivid in shape and fine in craftsmanship. Many dolls want that golden dragon. Li Sugar Cake has an oil basket with a big mouth and a big belly, which contains hundreds of bamboo boards, and the order of hundreds of surnames Qian Sun and Zheng Wang is written. If you touch the word "Zhao", you can get the golden dragon. In the past few years, my classmates and I have tried to "touch" a golden dragon countless times, and the result is always frustrating. It's either chicken or duck, or small fish or shrimp. Therefore, some students suspect that there is no "Zhao" in the basket of Li Tanggao, or that someone has always touched it in recent years.

Doubt belongs to doubt, and the truth may only be known by heaven and earth, but it does not affect everyone's interest in touching candy cakes. A little pocket money was still contributed to the candy cake.

1970, I returned to the city for the New Year from the countryside where I jumped the queue. On the first day of the first month, I went to the street, and the stall of Li Sugar Cake was placed at the door of the Catholic Church. Li Tangbing is much older and her hair is gray. Seeing the golden dragon he inserted on the grass handle, I suddenly had the idea of touching it. I feel in the oil basket, and I can touch the golden dragon by feeling. Sure enough, I touched a piece of bamboo board, and at first glance it was the word "Zhao", and finally I had my blessing for the first time. Li took off the golden dragon with a smile and even said, "It's lucky to touch it on the first day of the first month."

The earliest origin of Chengdu Chuanchuanxiang may be the food stall next to the school. In the era of material shortage, there are often stalls near Zhang Jiaxiang primary school. The stall owner cut the pickled kohlrabi into thin squares, strung four or five pieces with bamboo sticks, and put dried sea pepper noodles on the plate. This is the "primary stage" of Chengdu Chuanchuanxiang. After school, students will have a "delicious mouth" to patronize. Most girls like to eat radish skewers. Buy a string for a penny and dip it in Shanghai pepper noodles, and a few girls will eat a lot of tricks. First lick it with the tip of your tongue, make an exaggerated expression of fear of spicy food, and shout "shh" in your mouth. Then, gently bite a piece through the bamboo stick gracefully and chew it slowly with relish. These girls have this ability. A string of kohlrabi can be eaten from Zhang Jiaxiang to the door. Seeing the attractive and sweet taste of the food, the students next to them couldn't help secretly swallowing.

A few years later, the string of incense in Chengdu swept the city, and it often made people laugh when they saw the girls in Chengdu eating like that. I've been wondering whether the string incense in Chengdu was inspired by Zhang Jiaxiang.