Old things in the south

Chapter 21 The Forbidden Land of Men

Seldom—almost none—saw a man shop in that kind of shop.It is a women's business, but the shop assistants are all men.

When I was a child, I went with my mother to the one on Meishi Street outside Qianmen, not far from Liubiju. The sky-high signboard said "Hua Hanchong" in big characters. In addition to women's cosmetics, there are also all the necessary supplies for female celebrities.

My mother went there to buy these things: mid-moon cinnamon powder in a glass-covered square box, and a sky-blue bottle of Guangshengxing Shuangmei's cream (I kept remembering the word "嚜" with an unclear meaning, and I later learned that it was Translated from the Cantonese character of the English trademark Mark), pig pancreas (usually bought for Song Ma).In winter, a few ouziyou (ointment made from clam shells) will be bought and given to each of the children, which has dual meanings of toys and cosmetics.In addition, the mother has to buy some things for female celebrities: cross-stitch thread, suede uppers, crochet needles... Wait, why would a man buy these things?

My mother can't knit with two bamboo yarns, but she is good at crochet.What she knits most is woolen shoes, and she knits cartridge cases for us in winter.Embroidering cross cloth is also her specialty. According to the complex and beautiful cross pattern samples, she counts the small grids, stitches, and embroiders row by row.For a while, the pillowcases at home, my mother's purse, and my sister's bibs were all embroidered with cross cloth.

The period when I went to the powder shop with my mother passed, and then I went there myself.Girls are always inseparable from embroidery thread!In the third grade of elementary school, there is sewing class.I remember that at that time, boys were taking handicraft classes in a studio, playing with saws or files; girls were taking sewing classes in the library at the back, and it was the first time they used embroidery thread to learn "zipper". They were stretched and wrinkled, and later we learned how to make baby cattail shoes, nail them with sequins, and roll them with thin ribbons. We had to go to shops like Hua Hanchong to buy these.

In the eyes of female students, Hua Hanchong is too old-fashioned, so we went to Ruiyuxing in Rongxian Hutong to buy it.Ruiyuxing is a famous yarn store in Southwest City. It has three facades, and its things are more modern.

I have always been a fan of women's red, which may have something to do with my mother. Her books have all kinds of silk threads in them.Dumplings wrapped with silk threads for the Dragon Boat Festival, shoes and hats hooked with woolen hooks made me immerse myself in the beauty of delicacy, color, and various sewing, so I developed the habit of preferring female celebrities over other things in housework.

It is a joy to choose embroidery thread in Ruiyuxing.Thick Japanese embroidery thread is the most popular. It is not necessary to use it, but I like to buy two to take home.I also like to buy some patterns, trace them on white poplin with copy paper, and want to embroider a pair of pillows for myself, but in the drawers of the chest of drawers, there are always unfinished masterpieces that have been abandoned halfway.Handmade products cannot be completed overnight. From a pile of rags and a roll of tangled embroidery thread, you can also tell whether a girl has perseverance and patience!I'm one of those people who has no perseverance and patience.Every piece of female red is always flawed, for example, the shoulders of the sweater are woven fat, the four corners of the pillow are sewn at a slant, the gloves are one big and one small, the number of checks on the cross cloth is wrong, the pattern does not match, and the drawn yarn The handkerchief is only finished on three sides and so on.

But Ruiyuxing is an unforgettable shop. I thought that in order to match a certain color of silk thread, the clerk patiently brought many silk threads from small bamboo curtain rolls from upstairs for selection. Although I only spent two cents to buy a small one, They will also send guests to the door, that is the patience that is nowhere to be found!
(End of this chapter)