Indispensable nostalgia, [maritime memory] Wonton | hawker | sound in Shanghai

In the comical play, there is a monologue that imitates the various hawking sounds of Shanghai's "old bottom" street vendors. The shouting is lifelike, and the tone is rhythmic, attracting enthusiastic applause from the audience. The slightly older audience also emits bursts of knowing laughter. These shouting sounds are too friendly to everyone, but they haven't been heard for a long time.

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The clamor heralds the season's transition - from late spring to early autumn, vendors carry baskets to sell white sugar plums, sandalwood olives, loquats, and cherries. Before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the peddlers were carrying burdens and selling tender red water chestnut and Xietang lotus root. At the beginning of winter, Laoling, Tomatoes on sticks, fried ginkgo and baked potato came into the market one after another.

The varieties of Laoling include Shajiao Ling, Niujiao Ling, Wonton Ling, etc. The vendor put up a stove on the yellow croaker cart, and a large pot was filled with cooked water chestnuts, steaming hot, covered with a thick piece of burlap. The vendor selling Tomatoes on sticks carried tall haystacks on his shoulders, with strings of Tomatoes on sticks, lollipops and water chestnuts on bamboo sticks.

The vendor of stir fried white fruits has another skill, singing: "Sweet white fruits, stir fried white fruits, the fragrance is fragrant and sticky. The grains bloom big and big, buy ten out of three pieces of mother-in-law." Singing in dialect, rhymed every sentence, very pleasant to listen to. What's even more impressive is the vendor selling roasted yams, who never cries out. There is an iron bucket on the cart, with several roasted yams arranged at the mouth of the bucket. The special sweet aroma wafts throughout the alley, surpassing the sound of shouting.

The salt fried beans in Sanbei taste crispy and crispy when bitten down, which is particularly popular among people in Ningshao, Zhejiang. They think the taste is better than peanuts. "Sanbei" is a nickname for Cixi, and the vendors' voices carry a strong Cixi accent. They carry two cloth bags diagonally on their shoulders, one on each side, forming a cross on their chest and back. Whoever wants to buy, you get a small bag for three cents and a big bag for five cents. The vendor grabs a handful in the cloth bag and then takes out a piece of paper from the apron pocket to wrap it into a beautiful and reliable triangular bag. Even if you accidentally fall on the ground, it won't scatter. This packaging method may have been lost today when plastic bags are used for sealing. Don't be fooled by his seemingly effortless grasp, his accuracy is comparable to weighing. My neighbor friend Mao Mao and my younger brother once bought a bag of three cents each, and then poured it on the table to count. The difference between the two bags was only one grain.

Salt cauliflower is made by marinating grass heads with salt, drying them in the sun, and then using a special cooking method. It is sour, sweet, and very delicious. Wusu beans are actually sprouted beans used for home cooking, but they are cooked a little more crispy, and with the addition of cinnamon and five spice powder, they are especially delicious. Colored snails are pointed snails the size of medium screws, with red diced carrots and green hairy beans added. The color is very attractive and the taste is also good. If you like spicy food, you can add some pepper or chili powder.

As for the common foods throughout the year, in addition to various preserved fruits such as plums, peach slices, and olives, there are also various fresh foods such as beef jerky, duck gizzards, and pork head. It is said that the famous owner of the Little Shaoxing Boiled -sliced cold chicken Shop started from carrying a basket to sell chicken wings and feet on the streets.

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Some Dim sum, such as red bean soup, wine dumplings, leisha yuan, sesame paste, Zongzi, should be hot. In order to keep warm, the aluminum pots or barrels used by vendors to hold Dim sum are placed in cotton sheaths or straw nests. The vendors selling sesame paste and Zongzi are often Cantonese, and they shout in Cantonese, which sounds like "sesame paste - ham zongzi -", with a long, euphemistic and pleasant ending, which has a taste of Cantonese opera. What he sells is ham Zongzi. In fact, there are Zongzi with bean paste, Zongzi with red beans, Zongzi with fresh meat, Zongzi with white rice, and so on. Of course, they are only hot.

Those who sell Tea egg and happy eggs put a stove and a pot in a children's sitting cart, surrounded by the railings of the stroller, which is very stable. On the two handles of the stroller, net bags containing Gaoyou salted eggs and Preserved eggs were also hung.

The vendors selling Chai valve Wonton are even more excellent. They easily carry a load of things in order. At one end of the burden is a stove, a pot, and on the shelf is a pot of pre cooked Wonton soup, which is protected by fences up and down, and will never burn people; At the other end of the burden is the work cabinet for wrapping Wonton. In the drawer are Wonton skins, meat fillings, vegetable meat fillings, shrimp skins, laver, shredded mustard tuber, and shredded egg skins. On the shelf are various seasoning bottles, under the shelf are bowls and spoons, and at the bottom are firewood valves and folding small tables and stools. The small Wonton is sold for ten cents a bowl in the shop. He only needs eight cents, and the big Wonton is sold for fifteen cents. The Wonton vendor has a bamboo clapper. When the sound of "Dong Dong" and "Dong Dong" is knocked, the ethereal clapper sound spreads farther than the sound of peddling. Customers who want to buy will bring pots and bowls to buy, and of course, they can also sit next to the vendor's bowl to eat.

I remember that on my tenth birthday, my grandmother ordered a bowl of small Wonton for me to eat. At that time, she thought it was delicious. I still remember that the neighbors on the third floor opposite my house often bought them. They called the Wonton stall, used a small bamboo basket just enough to hold a small pot, put a few coins in it, and hung the basket from the window with a rope. After receiving coins, the stall owner knew whether the customer wanted large Wonton or small Wonton according to the amount of money. After it was cooked, it was put in a pot, covered with a lid, and the neighbors on the third floor pulled up Wonton, never overturning it.

The hawker depicted by painter He You

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The temptation of various vendors shouting in the alley, and the various delicious dishes appearing at the doorstep in turn, is so seductive! However, the households in the alley were almost indifferent, so the vendors were not doing well in business. I saw them wandering around in the alley, shouting and selling, but often no one stopped them from buying. I don't know how my brothers and sisters, as well as so many children in our neighbors, were so good at that time. Few people cried and clamoured to buy something to eat. Perhaps crying and arguing are useless, so we can only forget about it. Only when parents show rare kindness can they enjoy it once.

Not all parents in the past were so ruthless, it was really a matter of helplessness. In fact, these things are extremely cheap, starting from one cent and two cents, and one cent and two cents are considered expensive. However, at that time, each family only had a monthly income of a few tens of yuan, so it was already difficult to provide food, clothing, and warmth for the elderly and the elderly. They also had to provide for children's education and the elderly's medical treatment. The various expenses of interpersonal relationships were also difficult to support. How much spare money could be left to buy snacks?

There are also good businesses, the first one is stir fried rice noodles. This is also the top priority for children. Every time a vendor selling stir fried rice comes, the loud bang after the explosion surpasses any sound of selling. When families with children hear about it, they will all come out and wait in line. Therefore, the business of the stalls is often good enough to stop from morning to night: there are different kinds of fried rice, corn, dried broad beans, and rice cakes, but most of them are fried rice. If you add two pieces of saccharin tablets, you will have to charge one cent. Most people won't save these two cents. A pound or so of rice turns into a delicious, fragrant, sweet, and crispy dish that overflows from the basket, enough to relieve a few children's craving for more than half a month.

There is another type of good business vendor. They don't sell snacks, but the delicious dishes that people eat every morning - Pickled vegetables, milk curd. The vendor has come to the alley, there is no need to shout. As long as an old lady sees it, she will shout and inform her neighbors, and everyone will come out with bottles and bowls. Buying more food after meals won't spoil, and a load of goods won't sell out.

It may be because the hawker directly selects from the origin to sell goods, so Pickled vegetables are always fresh and cheap, and there are many varieties. Pickled vegetables include pickled melons, dried turnips, pagoda dishes, assorted dishes, etc., and milk rot includes red square, white square, dregs square, small square, ham, etc. The old lady's favorite is stinky milk curd. My grandmother said, "If there is a stinky milk rot in breakfast, I can eat an extra half bowl of soaked rice. There aren't many in the trough, and even if there are, they are more expensive than the vendors."

The sound of various vendors shouting and selling in the old alleys of Shanghai is heard. The various foods they sell - at least in my memory, they are really delicious. In fact, these are all ordinary foods. Later on, when I grew up and tried them again, I couldn't taste the good taste of the past. Even if I tried more high-end food than them, I couldn't find this strong "delicious" feeling.

It could be because of childhood cravings, or it could be because at that time these things were constantly heard and seen but couldn't be eaten, with an unattainable filter, and occasionally eating them felt like they had eaten the most delicious thing. It can be seen that daily life can wear away beauty, but memories can leave a lasting impression.