Daming, who was working hard in Shenzhen, received a letter from his foolish younger brother Erming. There was only a picture on it. An old man was lying there with a young man standing beside him. Daming's father, Master Liu, was widowed in his early years. He opened a bathhouse called Qingshui Chi in Beijing. He took a bath all his life, and his younger brother lived with his father. Daming received a letter from his brother, not knowing what happened at home, and hurried back to Beijing. It was found that the father's bathroom was business as usual, and the younger brother just missed his elder brother who hadn't come home for a few years, "Dad is sleeping, the other is me".
The old regular Zhang Jinhao and his wife often fight and get divorced. Once he was kicked out of the house by his wife, he came to Qingshuichi and wanted to make do with it for a few days. Master Liu invited him to drink in the bathhouse and told a story like this: People in the Northwest didn't want to take a bath, but they didn't have water. There has been no water in the well for many days, and the family has just enough food. That's it, the girl's father still went from house to house with a donkey and a cloth bag of millet for a bowl of grain for a bowl of water, and finally a bucket of water for the girl to bathe. A girl must take a bath before she can go on the road before getting married, which is the custom of that place. This girl is Erming's mother.
The bathhouse was in disrepair and leaked when it rained. One night when it rained heavily, Daming was awakened by the sound of thunder. He walked into the bathroom and looked up to see his father climbed onto the roof and nailed plastic sheets. Daming also went up to help his father repair the roof. By the time the roof was repaired, the rain had stopped and the east had turned white. The grandfather and the two sat on the edge of the house, and Daming looked at the stacked houses in the alley, and said that the place looked the same as when he was a child, and his father replied that it was much older, and there were few houses that would not leak when it rained. Daming said that it should be repaired, and his father replied, this house is just like a human being. When it reaches a certain number of years, it will be like that if it is old. After a busy day in the bathhouse, my father and Erming took a bath together in the pool as usual. Daming wanted to give my father a bath, but he shouted a few times but didn’t agree, so my father left peacefully while taking a bath. .
After his father left, Erming still played radio gymnastics in the morning and meticulously wiped the table and mopped the floor. The elder brother pulled him and told him that the bathhouse was closed today. Erming didn't listen, pushed his brother away, and continued to wipe the floor with his head down. Daming hugged his younger brother and explained to him that his father would never come back after he left, and the bathhouse would never be opened again. Erming was stunned, crying and asking, Dad died? Daming wanted to send Erming to the orphanage first, and then take Erming back to his side after discussing it with his wife. But after sending it there, I regretted it, so I turned around and took Erming back. Erming was angry with his elder brother, and followed his elder brother by paddling the wall with a branch. When his elder brother turned around and wanted to talk to him, he turned his face to the wall. Later, when Erming was mopping the floor, my brother took the mop and said to Erming, I'll do the mop, and you go to the front desk to greet the guests. Erming was very happy. Like when his father was there, he opened the signs of "shower", "cupping", "massage" and "pedicure" one by one, stood at the door of the bathhouse, bowed and smiled and said "morning guest" to the guests.
Beijing in the 1990s was full of construction and business districts. The bathhouse is also facing the fate of being demolished. The neighbors and the old guests have been assigned to different places, some in Daxing, some in Fangzhuang. The two uncles who often played with crickets in the bathroom said that they would no longer play crickets when they moved to the building, and they would not be able to live without the atmosphere. Neighbor Jin Hao said that their house is installing a water heater, and they can take a bath at home in the future. Everyone laughed at how he could wash at home. In the bathroom, everyone talked, laughed, and soaked in comfort. Miao Zhuang, a young man who likes to sing, often practices "My Sun" while showering in the bathroom. Er Mingte likes to listen to it. He listens carefully to him and applauds him every time. Can't sing a word. Once at a party celebrating the demolition of the neighborhood committee, the prelude sounded, but he still couldn't speak. Erming hurriedly picked up the water pipe next to him and helped him create an artificial shower. This time he finally sang it on the stage. When Miao Zhuang was about to move out, Erming went to see him off. He recorded his singing on a tape and gave it to Erming. The truck full of furniture moved away, Erming laughed happily while listening to the tape.
In the 1990s, our capital, Beijing, only had such bathhouses, with back rubbing, massage, cupping, and pedicure. In the rural areas of the north, in summer, whether it is to sunbathe in a basin of water during the day, or to take a dip in the large puddles in front of the village and behind the village at night, it is easy to take a bath. But in winter, bathing becomes an important ritual. All winter, adults and children hardly take a bath. Only when the Chinese New Year is approaching will the villagers drive a three-horse carriage and pull a car full of people to the bathhouse a few miles away for a major cleaning. The bathhouses in the city have long been replaced by various splendid bathing centers, and every home in the countryside is equipped with solar energy or water heaters, even if it is not difficult to take a bath in winter. Times are changing, the old is always being replaced by the new, and the times when you can only take a bath once or twice a winter can only be heard as a joke.
This article was first published on the public account "Movie Vendor", sharing my movie treasures and recording the simple years.
View more about Shower reviews
