Chapter 62 Overpass
Someone once said that everyone in Beijing knows Tianqiao.

When talking about Beijing, one cannot avoid mentioning the overpass.

Before the 1960s, Tianqiao was the largest, most comprehensive, most prosperous and lively entertainment venue in Beijing. It was also the most popular, concentrated and attractive place for the trading of low-end goods.

It is a gathering place for all kinds of people, and is a performance venue for skilled artists from all walks of life. It is a symbol of the capital.

On the overpass, there is everything to eat, drink, play and have fun, as well as all kinds of art forms and performing arts.

Entertainment such as storytelling, opera singing, shadow puppetry, crosstalk, performing arts, martial arts, magic tricks, shadow puppetry, movies, etc. can all be found here.

The food and drink sector is also equally impressive. There are not only dozens of teahouses, but also countless types of Beijing specialty snacks, including tofu pudding, fried liver, braised small intestines, steamed cakes, sausages, pot stickers, fried dough rings, and hundreds of other snacks.

In addition to these, there are dozens of taverns and restaurants.

These pubs usually open at 9 or 10 in the morning and do not close until the middle of the night.

The two people walked slowly from the bus stop to the Triangle Market.

Triangle Market and Fair Market are the two places where the largest number of Tianqiao artists gather and are also the most lively places.

Before entering the market, He Shengnan saw a man outside carrying a wooden stick with straw tied to one end and dozens of candied haws stuck on it. Her eyes were involuntarily drawn to him.

Seeing her greedy look, Wang Mengde felt amused. He pulled her hand and walked over: "Give me two strings of candied haws."

"Okay, two strings of candied haws, six cents a string, a total of 12 cents." The candied haws seller shouted, and swiftly took out two strings of candied haws and handed them to him: "Here you go."

He took the candied haws, paid for it, and gave one to He Shengnan. Seeing that she couldn't wait to eat it, Wang Mengde also took a bite.

Suddenly, a sour and sweet taste spread in the mouth.

This candied haws is not made with rock sugar, but with syrup wrapped in hawthorn, which is also called maltose.

They ate while walking, and followed the flow of people into the Triangle Market.

As soon as you enter the market, you can feel the prosperity and bustle of the overpass. Various folk artists gather here and perform at their respective fixed locations.

There was a bustling crowd, and the sounds of shouting, performances, and applause were endless.

Every stall was crowded with people watching the fun, among which the acrobatics and magic performances were the most attractive.

She randomly picked a stall and peeked inside through the gap in the crowd. She saw a sword-swallowing performance going on inside. As they watched a long sword being slowly swallowed into the stomach, He Shengnan and the onlookers exclaimed in amazement.

Wang Mengde knew the tricks of this magic trick in his previous life, but he still couldn't help but applaud along with everyone else.

After watching the acrobatic performance for a while, Wang Mengde and He Shengnan walked further inside and took a quick look at acrobatic performances such as spitting fire from the mouth, swallowing iron balls, fairies picking beans, magical transformations, and flying people.

There were also performances of Peking opera, bangzi, storytelling, drum, crosstalk, quick-talk, double-act, etc., which were also extremely fascinating and the two of them were very excited to watch them.

Those who can perform on the flyover are basically the top figures in a certain industry. Without real skills, they can't survive here.

The two of them looked at the strange things and bought some food from the food stalls if they were interested. They ate while looking at the food. It was almost noon when they finally finished visiting the Triangle Market and then went to the Fair Market.

Not long after entering the market, I saw a douzhi stall called "Douzhishu". The stall owner placed a row of long benches and wooden tables on the next street.

There was also a table surrounded by a blue cloth. On the table, a large plate was placed several kinds of seasonal pickles, as well as freshly fried dough rings and freshly baked sesame cakes. A dozen diners were sitting there eating dough rings and sesame cakes with pickles and drinking soy milk.

"Shengnan, let's go eat something." Wang Mengde suggested.

He knew that his wife liked to drink soy milk, but in the few months since they met and got married, they had only drunk soy milk once outside.

"Okay." He Shengnan said with sparkling eyes.

I ordered a bowl of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, two sesame cakes, and a small plate of pickles.

Wang Mengde didn't like soy milk. He couldn't get used to the taste of the "pot water", so he only asked for one bowl for He Shengnan.

After eating, the two continued walking forward and soon came to a place where martial arts performances were being performed.

In the middle of the venue, there was a burly man dancing up and down with a sword weighing more than 100 pounds, which was dazzling. Suddenly, he held the sword in his hand and spun his body quickly, and the crowd watching involuntarily retreated.

After watching the performance of "Da Dao Zhang", He Shengnan's face flushed. She turned to Wang Mengde and asked, "Mengde, who do you think would win if he and my grandfather competed when they were young?"

"It's hard to say. This 'Big Knife Zhang' is more of a performance guy, but he's very strong, and it's unclear whether he has any actual combat experience. Grandpa was a wanderer when he was young, and he was more of a fighter. He practiced Baguazhang, so it's hard to say who will win."

Wang Mengde thought for a moment, then shook his head and said.

According to his understanding, when He Youyu was young, his moves were always deadly. He had killed more than ten people. As for the number of injuries and disabilities, even He Youyu himself could not remember how many were killed.

After listening to crosstalk for a while in the center of the fair market, the sound of gongs, drums and rap from the southeast attracted their attention.

When I got closer, I saw that it was "Little Gold Teeth", the shadow puppet show performer who inherited his father's business.

He was seen singing while pulling the rope with his hands to change the pictures, and occasionally playing instruments such as gongs, drums, and cymbals.

Several children lay on the side of the box, looking inside through the camera with great interest.

Although people around cannot see the scenes inside, the story sung by Xiao Jin Ya feels ups and downs and fascinating.

They strolled until about four o'clock in the afternoon. Finally, feeling unsatisfied, they walked out of the overpass, went to the bus stop, and took the tram back.

In the car, looking back at the overpass that was getting farther and farther away, Wang Mengde felt emotional.

Now he is the only one who understands that in two years, the overpass will be gradually renovated, with several small theaters and circus venues newly built, and the charging method will be changed from scattered tips to ticket sales, so this kind of open-air scene will never be seen again.

Even in the 60s, flyovers were banned as "black markets", which made flyovers deserted and sparsely populated, and the street culture of flyovers gradually disappeared.

(End of this chapter)