CHAPTER 397: CHAPTER 303: RUSHING TO THE TEMPLE FAIR

On New Year’s Day, just as the sky began to lighten, the reveille sounded. Zhang Guoqing and his wife, holding their children, lay down on the bed in a deep sleep. Before they could sleep for two hours, they were awakened by the continuous, deafening sound of firecrackers.

Zhang Guoqing heard the continuous shouting outside the door. Without bothering to wash up, he opened the door to let them in. He saw that the group from last night was already full of energy, ready to set off.

The biggest joy of New Year’s Day is visiting the temple fair. Last night, they had already applied for a military truck from the motorcade, agreeing to drive at 1 p.m. to take the younger siblings from home to the temple fair together.

Fang Fei saw Zhang Guoqing look at his watch and pointed outside at a few little rascals with a wry smile. He hadn’t even had a chance to lie down, constantly hearing the little ones shouting by his ear. These kids had already inquired about what snacks were available and clamored to go to the fair to fill their stomachs.

Zhang Guoqing let the little rascals go to the living room to find something to eat. After hurriedly washing up, he invited Old Mrs. Cheng to look after the children, waiting for Lin Liyin to bring her two little treasures over. With Lin Liyin and the old lady taking care of the children, they could finally set off with peace of mind.

Just before the departure, one child after another ran out from the Big Courtyard, filling the entire truck. Zhang Guoqing looked worriedly at the back and discussed with a few people beside him how to safely bring everyone back. The thought of so many children at the temple fair gave him a headache. He hadn’t forgotten that the children from the Big Courtyard were quite wild and prone to making their own decisions.

Fang Fei and the others pointed to a few chief guard soldiers standing not far behind. Zhang Guoqing immediately felt relieved.

After getting on the truck, four or five people sat piled together in the driver’s cabin. There were girls in the back, and everyone, to avoid any misunderstandings, forced Fang Fei to increase the speed and step hard on the gas.

A military truck led the way, followed by a group of small cars, heading grandly northwards.

"How many temple fairs are there in Beijing City, with the bustling beginning of spring?" This referred to the northern temple fair. It’s said to have started during the Qing Qianlong period, being the largest in Beijing, always ranked first among the major temple fairs. For old Beijingers, not visiting a temple fair during the New Year is like not celebrating the New Year at all. From New Year’s Day to the fifteenth of the first lunar month, temple fairs are crowded with people.

As the vehicle exited the Peace Gate and arrived near the Teacher’s College Affiliated Middle School, they stopped far-off in front of a row of bookshelves and painting stands. Fang Fei and the others began to have the children line up and report numbers, giving them an important task: to keep an eye on the little soldiers in front and behind them. If anyone got lost, they weren’t good comrades. Not good soldiers, and next time, they wouldn’t be taken to any Big Courtyard activities.

With a stick of candy each, the children formed a line, obediently following orders.

Zhang Guoqing and his buddies walked in front, with the children in the middle, followed by the guards. The girls had already rushed inside ahead of time. As they passed by, many people instinctively made way, reminding Zhang Guoqing of an age-old adage and making him feel immensely embarrassed. He hadn’t expected that one day he would be included.

Up ahead were shelves lined with paintings. The first sight was a giant kite stall, the tall walls roadside adorned with colorful, large kites. Past the kite stalls were food stalls selling items like sweet rice cakes and sticky rice rolls.

Sweet rice cakes, sticky rice rolls, pea flour cakes, and fermented mung bean milk were all famous snacks of the northern temple fairs. The snack stalls were crowded with layers of customers both young and old.

The children, upon arriving here, immediately descended into chaos, their eyes gleaming at the fragrant aroma in the air. Zhang Guoqing and the others got them to line up again and began ordering food. He was the first to pay, and when he looked back, he vaguely saw Zhou Jiao’s figure appearing in front of a painting stand. He planned to return here in the coming days, having just glimpsed many antique books and art pieces but unable to properly enjoy them due to the sheer number of children.

After enjoying the snacks, they continued to follow the crowd southwards, where the roadside stalls sold endless children’s toys. This area was the most crowded part of the entire temple fair.

Outside Haiwang Village and the Fire God Temple were spacious open fields. Toy sellers, acrobats, monkey trainers, stilt walkers, and Peking opera singers—all drew dense crowds that constantly flowed. The sounds of diabolo whirling, pinwheels spinning, drums beating, and the laughter and cheer of people filled the air.

Apart from the impromptu performances, the small trinkets included clay figures, little paper mice, hand gongs, small gongs, little cymbals, fireworks, popping firecrackers, dough figurines, masks, bamboo and wooden swords and guns, small wooden horses, silk flowers, and paper flowers, as well as Chinese knots.

The most eye-catching was the throng of people, hands raised high, holding strings of sugar-coated haws over three feet long, topped with small colorful flags—a full-fledged New Year’s atmosphere.

The children were already dazzled, unable to decide which was better, wishing they could take everything home. Each child took out their pocket money, clamoring to play hoop-la and buy toys.