Old things in the south

Chapter 30 On stage and off stage
On Saturday afternoons, I was often taken to Chengnan Amusement Garden by adults.The ticket is only [-] cents (I squeezed in under the armpit of an adult, so I don't need a ticket).There are countless places to play when you go in. The big theater where Beijing opera is sung is of course the most important, but the civilized opera there also arouses my interest. ", are all my favorite dramas.

Opposite the civilized theater, it seems to be a magic field, watching the jugglers in tuxedos, walking forward and backward with the melody of the music, taking out so many things from the empty top hat : Flower handkerchiefs, national flags, bread, live rabbits, goldfish bowls, at this time the music is playing loudly, applause is everywhere, in my little heart, I only feel infinite joy!I think the world is so cute, there are so many things created out of nothing!

I have been a child who likes to find new and exciting things since I was a child, and I like to find some thought entertainment for myself in ordinary things. Therefore, in such a large Chengnan amusement park, not only listening to operas, but also social life can be enjoyed Seeing in this world: beauty, enjoyment, deceit, snobbery, crime... But in the perception of a carefree little girl, what can she experience?

Some things, in my memory, are as clear as they are now. In the corner behind the wooden screen of the theater, the waiter is wringing a large handful of towels from a large basin of boiling water and delivering them to the guests. .When there is an unimportant cutscene on the stage, the waiter will perform the stunt of "throwing the towel handle". The waiter downstairs, standing in an eye-catching position among the audience, throws a large bundle of hot towels, and suddenly, Throw it to the tea room upstairs, or throw it from the back seat to the front seat. The customer wipes his face and collects it, then throws it down, and throws it back.Throwing it around in this way is safe and won applause from all the audience. A voice will come out from the audience: "Good towel handle!"

However, the disputes between the audience and the waiter are probably unavoidable every day and every game, and they are really messy.When the waitress insisted on putting out the fruit plate and we insisted on not having it, it was a vain argument.The waiter saw that the guests brought children, and even refused to take the fruit plate away.No, I gently and secretly put a candied peanut into my mouth to eat, another one, another one, and another one. When the adults found out, most of the dishes were gone, so it’s okay not to buy them now. Gotta buy it.

Tea, too, is important on this occasion.The old man who ordered a pot of tea was very proud, and he had to show off his prestige, the lid of the teapot slammed loudly, because the waiter was late, and the old man had no hot tea to drink, so why would he turn around and shout hello!The gentlemen in the box became even more angry when they threw the teapots flying, and the waiter had to come to make amends.In the society at that time, humbleness and dignity were in sharp contrast.

In such an environment: the gongs and drums on the stage are loud, and the entrance and exit gates are full of irrelevant people, people drinking, checking, lighting gas, and changing commercials, walking back and forth among the actors.The audience was full of smoke, throwing towel handles, asking for tea money, selling magnolia flowers, flying teapots, shouting strangely, and calling for children and women, all in a mess.But in this chaotic scene, I am leisurely and contented.I feel so lively and free around me.

(End of this chapter)