Bathing in a bathhouse is a major characteristic of old Beijing. For generations of Beijing natives like me, bathhouses, in fact, always have a special image in their memory.
When I was young, I used to go to a bathhouse near the Xisi Red House Cinema. Some years later, on a certain day, I accidentally thought of it and went to visit it, but I couldn't find the original door. . At that time, my family took me to the bathhouse together. In fact, my childhood memories are very vague, only the hot water, the lingering steam, and the noisy voices of people, and, after that, in the small shop at the door , that sweet little cake...
that is probably the memory of pre-primary and early primary school. I don't know if it is because of that little cake that always appears after bathing. The feeling of going to the bathroom is always a mixture of joy and anticipation.
The bathhouse in Xisi, I remember that the facilities and services are quite complete, such as bathing, pedicure, massage, etc., everything is readily available, and it is also very cheap. Of course, I never enjoyed these when I was young, I just knew that my parents really liked it. In fact, most of the master bathers are also neighbors in a hutong. Therefore, while the masters are busy, everyone is chatting around. At this time, we young children listen and learn. Learn to be a good parent, learn how to behave, or meet new friends who may live in the hutong next door.
To this day, I still vaguely remember the taste of that sweet little cake, which is the taste of childhood life, a little far away, but clearly exudes a mellow and sweet fragrance.
After that, I moved and went to West Back Street. There, once, there was also a bathhouse, facing the street. I remember it was a red brick wall, and there was a big wooden sign that said about Ander Road Bathhouse and so on. Going there often is probably in the late elementary school, right? This bathhouse does not have a canteen that sells delicious snacks. For this reason, I used to dislike it, but later, it gradually became a habit.
There are still some clear pictures in my memory, back rubbing, massage and pedicure, I thought it was so interesting at the time, I always wanted to stand next to the master to see what happened, but I was always shy. After all, there are no clothes, but only the masters are neatly dressed. , So far, I have not figured out what the pedicure is. When I was young, I was always a little curious.
Later, I gradually stopped going, because I finally built an extra cubicle and installed a solar water heater, so I gradually forgot about it, but when I passed by occasionally, I suddenly remembered those familiar noises, and the kind of extremely relaxing intimacy between people.
Later, I finally never went there again because of the demolition. I was born in a hutong, grew up in a hutong, and when I was about to leave the hutong, I took a camera and took pictures of every courtyard entrance in the entire hutong. During the demolition, the old neighbors' visits to each other are still vivid in my mind. The expression and tone are really difficult to express. The improvement of material life is indeed good, but at the same time, they have to give up a piece of the old place, and the eyes are implicit and sad. At that time, I thought that even if the buildings were rebuilt, this place called Xihou Street would at least retain some traces. Later, I learned that the buildings that have been erected, the roads and roundabouts that have been rebuilt, and the house prices that many people cannot move back to, All that I once knew, disappeared with the rubble.
After moving into the building, I never saw the occasional dead mice, spiders, geckos, etc., nor the chatting of the uncle walking the birds when they went out to meet each other, nor the sister-in-law of the Dong family and the wife of the Western family who quarreled today and washed together tomorrow. The scene of the clothes, when I think about it occasionally, I suddenly feel that something is missing. Fortunately, I've never had a shower like a car wash.
We are following the pace of modernization too fast, and when I was still addicted to the bustling city life, time has forced me to catch up. There will be no heavy rain outside and light rain in the house, but it will no longer be able to catch the earth, and my uncle's cricket jar has been empty for a long time.
Old Beijing loves to take a bath, but it's not because everyone understands "Shanshan is like water". Of course, the movie must have a finishing touch, but for me, perhaps, it is Erming. Erming is like an innocent child, using his Eyes, inheriting the childhood memories of us adults have gradually forgotten, only he can still see clearly and remember firmly.
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