第三章 交流 (Chapter Three: The Market Day)

Once again, it was the day of the Tianhui Town Market Day.

In early winter, the days were no longer long. Country folk rose early, so when a pale light tinged the eastern sky, shopkeepers in the town were already up, opening their shutters and tidying their wares.

On market days, the earliest to open were inns like Yunji, Yipin, and Antai. Traveling merchants typically rose at cockcrow and set off before full daylight. Following the inns, the Opium Den stirred, along with vendors carrying担子 of Tangyuan and Fermented Rice. On Market Day, butcher shops also opened early.

The West Sichuan Plain-a common name for the Chengdu Plain, stretching over a hundred and fifty li east to west and seven hundred li north to south-produced the Black-haired Pig, arguably the finest in all Sichuan. The breed was excellent: black-haired with sparse roots, short legs, a snub snout, thin skin, and a large frame, with the strongest reaching around three hundred jin. Their feed was superior: besides kitchen scraps called Swill, they mostly ate Distillers' Grains and Rice Bran, with a small portion of碎白米稀饭, a porridge even many in poorer regions seldom tasted. They were kept cleanly: except for destitute families in the countryside who had no choice but to let pigs roam free, most households built special Pigsty with stone-paved floors and wooden栅. Waste flowed out along slanted stones to an outside toilet. The Stone Trough for feeding was narrow, allowing only their snouts inside. The cardinal rule was to let them eat and sleep, never labor. In places like Pixian County and Xinfan County, where stone was scarce, sturdy low lofts were built over Manure Pit. The floorboards were scrubbed smooth, and in hot weather, cold water was splashed to prevent plague. In short, they were kept utterly comfortable, free to grow flesh without a care. Thus, the pigs from north of Chengdu were considered the finest of the fine in the West Sichuan Plain.

Their meat was more tender, fragrant, and crisp than pork from anywhere else. If boiled just right, sliced thin, lightly dipped in white soy sauce, and chewed slowly, one could detect a flavor reminiscent of walnut kernels. That was why Chengdu's Sliced Boiled Pork stood unrivaled.

For this reason, though Tianhui Town was not a large market, on Off-market Day it still slaughtered two or three pigs daily. On Market Day, the pork business naturally expanded.

Even the trade at the Live Pig Market was substantial! The Live Pig Market occupied a clearing at the edge of town, with many large pens holding fattened pigs. Most were brought from surrounding villages on Off-market Day. Once sold, they were tied belly-up on two-handled wheelbarrows and pushed toward the Provincial Capital to become material for meals and drinks. Pig bristles, once hardly useful, were now bought by Foreigners-not just bristles, but even intestines and diseased hides. Half-loaded boats east of Chengdu's gate shipped them in bulk to Chongqing for trade. Many villagers marveled, "We discard useless things, yet the foreign devil pays for them. How strange! Soon, even our mud might turn to money!"

The Rice Market in the Fire God Temple was another major trade, like the Live Pig Market. At dawn, loads of rice-from coarse to refined-poured in from both ends of the town, filling the temple's stage and courtyard, leaving only narrow paths for buyers and rice brokers.

The Poultry Market and Grain Market were both in Guan Yu Temple, with brisk business. Chickens were most numerous, ducks next, geese occasional, and domestic rabbits likewise. Some were in baskets, but most had wings and legs bound with straw ropes, lined up on the ground. Baskets of wheat, barley, corn, peas, soybeans, broad beans, and other grains were arranged like a maze.

Beyond the main market was the Livestock Market, in a grove outside town. There were water buffalo, yellow cattle, sheep, goats, occasionally horses, donkeys, tall mules, and watchdogs.

Outside the main market were杂货摊 along the streets, called the Small Market. Formerly, villagers relied on Itinerant Peddlers who摇着一柄长把Rattle-drum as they traveled through towns and farms. Later, some lazy Itinerant Peddler, taking advantage of Market Day, set up stalls in town to display goods. It proved less effort for more gain, becoming a trend that established the Small Market.

The main goods in the Small Market were Homespun Cloth. Farm women, after heavy chores, spun thread and wove cloth to pass idle hours. Though it fetched little, it was their私房 from spare time, sometimes helping with household expenses. But lately, foreign Bamboo Cloth and Foreign Cloth had arrived-fine, wide, smooth, and even, white as snow, blue as indigo, some printed, colorfast after washing, thick as wool, thin as silk. Only they were pricier, sold less briskly than Homespun Cloth. Next were men's Skullcap and women's Suzhou Satin Hatband. Now there were Yan Felt Hat and Beijing Felt Hat; cool hats were out of season, leaving only Red-tasseled Winter Hat and Ruiqiu Hat as stall decorations. There were also various shoes for men: cloud-patterned,镶边的, single-ridged, double-ridged, ingot-shaped, made of fine material or cloth. Leather soles had not yet reached the countryside; most were cloth or felt soles coated with lead powder. Boots were only半靴 or quick-boots, without thick-soled court boots. For women's feet, there were few paper patterns, cut shoe uppers, and high-wooden soles.

Besides shoes, there were Bleached Cloth Socks exclusively for men, various single or lined Over-trousers, Trouser Leg Ties, and Silk Ribbon or Silk Braid for tying braids.

The Small Market stalls also had items for women. Like coarse洗脸Local Ko-hemp Towel and fashionable细Foreign Ko-hemp Towel; Chengdu or Guilin Xuan's Scented Soap, White Soap, Peach Round Powder, Vermilion Hair String, Rouge Cake, and various cotton, silk, embroidered, gold threads, and gold leaf paper; scissors from Liaoguangdong's Helan Signboard, foot knives, rulers, needles, Thimble. There were also beloved Foreign Thread and Foreign Needle. Among these, Foreign Needle was most popular-though costlier than local needles, their flat, grooved eyes made threading easy, but they lacked larger sizes for sole-stitching or quilt-mending. Foreign Thread was smooth and even, but too stiff, so few used it. Then there were copper, silver, gold-plated, or jade-adorned Hairpins, Hairpins, other jewelry, fake jade earrings, Bracelets. Further, various Flower Braids, Embroidery like Cuffs and Skirt Panels; also Suzhou Goods, Guangdong Goods, Patterned Fabric, Fake Pearls. All these items wore tempting faces, gleaming with light, luring women-young and middle-aged, rich or poor-to linger before stalls. Even dashing young men cast eager glances, wanting to spend on their beloveds.

The already wide stone-paved street was halved again by stalls of the Small Market, along with vegetable, sundry, and food vendors. Thousands of market-goers, like wild streams from mountain gullies, poured in from all directions-field paths, trails, roads-into this town street, about a li long and less than a zhang wide, like a river.

One could well imagine the crowding at Peak Market Time!

Market Day was a flow of goods, money, people, and also sound. The sounds were entirely human; though livestock made noise, on Market Day none was heard. All that reached the ear were human voices! Hawkers cried their wares, bargainers shouted, path-clearers yelled, chatterers and laughers called out. For trivial matters, quarrels erupted, each side raising voices to the highest pitch, while mediators tried to outshout both. So only human voices, only human voices, everywhere! It was like a mercury flood of sound, reaching every corner. At noon's peak, one could barely distinguish hawking from quarreling; the ears just buzzed with a roaring din. If unaccustomed and suddenly plunged into this tide, one's eardrums would surely deafen for a while.

This proved that we Sichuan people, especially those in the West Sichuan Plain, and most of all the country folk there, held no secrets in sound. They were used to speaking loudly; their eardrums must be thicker than others'. So they couldn't whisper without a third person hearing. That was why, in the market, when they wanted secret talk, they didn't use mouths but fingers under large sleeves. Some spoke orally, but for numbers and nouns, they had替代术语; if not in the trade, one couldn't understand at all.

When the sound tide peaked, it slowly ebbed. If you stood high, you'd see those who had finished交易 dispersing from the market like sunbeams. Those remaining, aside from a few with unfinished business, mostly sought leisure and comfort. Then, the Tea Houses, Wine Shops, Opium Dens, Restaurants, and Snack Stalls boomed doubly.

Tianhui Town even had three or four Red-pot Restaurants, with Cooks mostly from Pixian County, skilled at stir-frying, but none as famous as the Restaurant before Yunji Inn.

Yunji Restaurant offered steaming and frying, best known for pork slices with braised tofu. But its patrons, besides passing merchants, were mostly well-off Grain Households with a spendthrift streak. Otherwise, who'd dare casually spend several qian of silver on food and drink!

The other Small Wine Shops were packed.

Xingshun Shop was naturally bustling. It had ready dishes that kept well: Ash-coated Preserved Eggs, Salted Eggs, Dried Tofu, Fried Peanut Cake. Outside, a Roasted Meat vendor and a Wonton vendor came every market day, making it convenient for all three.

As usual, before Peak Market Time after breakfast, Cai Shazi and Tu Panzi set out tables, chairs, and stools, wiping them clean, preparing chopsticks, wine cups, and plates. Sister-in-law Cai also dressed up, applying powder and rouge-frowned upon in the countryside, especially by women. Two years ago, women town-wide gossiped behind her back, calling her too alluring, saying Xingshun Shop's business thrived on this living招牌. Later, getting used to it, some still talked, but many began模仿 her. She wore her hair in a peony bun tied with red-green waist threads, neatly wrapped in a narrow漂白Foreign Cloth headscarf, with a silver Hairpin and bracelet. Over a jade-colored Bamboo Cloth shirt, she wore a blue foreign-satin vest with翠色牙子. Before Peak Market Time, she sat in the shop's宝座 holding Jin Wazi, tending business and watching the bustle.

Shortly after noon, several drinking customers had come. Most were friends spending five small coins on peanut cake and a cup of烧酒, then leaving with straw hats. Even Wang Laoqi, the Roasted Meat seller, looked down on them; if they bought a few coins of卤猪耳朵, he'd crack jokes, seeming disdainful, as with Lu Maolin Ninth Master.

But that afternoon, he never expected Lu Maolin, who usually haggled over four coins of pig's head meat, picking lean bits and weighing personally, to act differently. Just stepping onto the eaves, Lu Maolin called to Wang Laoqi, "Today, I'll patronize you greatly, Wang Laoqi!"

Wang Laoqi, attending another customer, turned and smiled. "I see Ninth Master woke on the millstone today, wanting more pig's head meat for two extra coins!"

"Nonsense! You think I can't afford loss? Cut twenty coins worth from each item on your担子. If you cheat me, you son of a whore, just wait!"

Sister-in-law Cai laughed from behind the counter. "What's this, Ninth Master? Did you win a会 today?"

Lu Maolin saw an empty square table inside and threw his heavy money pouch onto it with a thud. Turning to Sister-in-law Cai, he smiled. "You guess wrong! I'm hosting guests today! Your elder cousin Luo and Zhang Zhankui and others, plus one more guest-"

"A woman? Who? Someone familiar?"

"Half-familiar..."

Her brows raised, she laughed. "I know, must be that one!... Why host here?" Her face darkened.

"Don't blame me! Your elder cousin suggested it. She said she was tired of Yunji Inn's food and wanted a change. Your elder cousin insisted I host here, saying your wine is genuine and Wang Laoqi's卤菜 good..."

A laugh rose from the crowd. Indeed, Liu Sanjin followed Luo Waizui and other men, joking and stepping onto the eaves. Passersby all turned to look. She feigned indifference, entering the shop and locking eyes with Sister-in-law Cai. Luo Waizui patted her shoulder. "Let me introduce you. This is Xingshun Shop's proprietress, Sister-in-law Cai!... This is Liu Sanjin, who outshines many Lodges on the east road!"

Sister-in-law Cai stayed silent, only smiling slightly. Liu Sanjin slapped his shoulder and glanced at Sister-in-law Cai. "Thanks for the praise, don't embarrass me to death!"

Lu Maolin squinted. "If you could die of shame, wait for me at the ghost gate. I'd drown myself in piss and hurry over!"

Even Sister-in-law Cai laughed aloud. Liu Sanjin twisted her hips, grabbed his thigh, and pinched. "Your dog mouth grows no ivory! I'll pinch your flesh off!"

After they sat, ten卤菜 were served. Tu Panzi poured大曲酒. Liu Sanjin whispered in Lu Maolin's ear. He suggested inviting Sister-in-law Cai for a drink. Luo Waizui glanced at her and shook his head. "Don't jest. She's busy! Won't come."