Daji is a traditional form of trading in rural areas at a fixed time and place. Originated from the time of Yin and Zhou. In the south of our country, it is called the market or field, and the north of the Central Plains is called the set.

It is calculated in the lunar calendar, usually one episode in five days, and is a relatively fixed form of folklore.

According to the production and rest habits of different places, it is divided into: morning gathering, about 4 o'clock in the morning to 12 o'clock in the afternoon; the main set, which runs from about seven or eight in the morning to four or five in the afternoon; The night set, also known as the night owl subset, runs from about twelve midnight to five or six in the morning.

For a long time, the village market was an important channel for farmers to shop and exchange products. It is an indispensable and important periodic group trade activity for local and nearby farmers. Generally, there is a large set in seven or eight or a dozen villages, and most of the way it is composed is a conventional natural model.

In the rural areas of southwest Lu, Liji is a great event for the local government. Generally, the village comes forward to initiate a gathering at an appropriate opportunity, such as something big happening in the village, which has caused a sensational effect of a certain amount of positive energy in the surrounding area.

At this time, the village took this opportunity to invite circuses from all over the world to the village to prepare a market for seven consecutive days of free performances.

Larger vendors in the vicinity and even in other towns are invited to join the market, not only free of charge, but also have to eat and drink, commonly known as "temple fairs" or "big gatherings".

Daji has always been an important place of life and entertainment for nearby farmers, and those who tell stories, play drums, play tricks, and tell fortunes are very popular with the villagers.

In particular, the tofu pot, fried bun stall, fried dough stick stall, and haggis pot on the big set are the favorites of the old men in the village, and the business is still booming. A steaming staple with simple and affordable side dishes, plus cheap loose wine, can be enough for five or six dollars.

After the old men were full of wine and food, they staggered to the root of the wall facing the sun with drunken eyes, enjoying the lazy taste of Yangguan while chatting with the mountains and foggy mountains.

It wasn't until the whole body was comfortable that I got up and went to visit the big market in a daze, which also became an authentic Daji scenery with a strong local flavor and folk flavor.

Catch up with the big set, in northern China for thousands of years. However, with the construction of small urbanization and the improvement of material demand in recent years, the rural large market is also constantly changing.

In particular, the impact of online shopping, which is becoming more and more common, has also become increasingly cold in business at the weekday big market. However, the New Year's fair is still an indispensable highlight of the New Year in the north.

Rural people still insist that only by buying New Year's goods can they really prepare for the New Year. Perhaps because as long as you are in the bustling and noisy New Year's fair, you can vaguely find those sweet memories of your childhood, and now the New Year's fair has also become a nostalgic way for people.

The large set in southwest Lu is generally composed of three types of businessmen.

The first type is the old businessmen, that is, those who have been operating in the market for a long time, the business scope is relatively stable, and have their own relatively stable stalls.

They are the backbone of the big set, and as long as the big set leaves them, they will exist in name only, and they will soon disperse. In some places, because the various local fees are too ruthless, there will be a spontaneous phenomenon of the collective closure of old traders, and if it is not handled well, there may be a real situation where this large set disappears.

Because most of these old traders are big businessmen in the vicinity, as long as they collectively change places, they will soon set up a new market in another place, and many villages are also struggling to attract old traders to become markets.

The second category is businessmen who specialize in agricultural and sideline products related to the season.

They generally do not have long-term fixed stalls, and ordinary growers who only go to the market to sell their agricultural and sideline products in a certain season. The main products are produced by themselves, and since there is no fixed stall, they generally choose to set up stalls on the edge of the large market.

Their selling prices are generally more flexible, after all, they are produced in their own land, and they just want to sell them as soon as possible for cash. Of course, their products, sometimes a lot of them are relatively inferior products left over after wholesale. Therefore, their existence also has a certain regulating effect on the main market of Daji.

The third category is businessmen who specialize in buying and selling on special festivals.

For example, the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Winter Clothes Festival sell sacrificial supplies, and sell couplets, lanterns and other New Year's goods at the New Year's fair. These people usually work as farmers or have normal jobs, but they only go to the big market for more than ten days to earn extra income a few days before the special festival.

These people generally belong to the smart people who like to speculate and specialize, that is, the capable people often said in the countryside. They don't have a fixed stall, they often change places with a shot, and they often quarrel with others over the stall.

Generally speaking, the old businessmen are relatively heavy, and the seasonal businessmen are generally more flexible, while the speculative businessmen are more tricky, and they are the least liked by other businessmen at the big market.

At present, although there is no special management department to make overall arrangements, most of them have their own business models after long-term historical development.

It also has a spontaneous regional division in the overall layout, and now the large set in southwest Lu is basically divided into nine parts.

The place where you just enter the big market is called the head of the set.

In the relatively quiet area of the set, there are generally distributed craftsmen who shave their faces and shaved their heads, repair bicycles, repair watches, repair shoes, repair small household appliances, and of course, there are special fees for people to see the car.

In the early years, the shaving picks that specialized in shaving their faces and heads were very lively, but now they have become dedicated to serving the elderly in the village, and they are relatively deserted. The masters are generally old people, who come to the big market to set up stalls, especially to make money or to relax.

In addition, most of the masters who are engaged in the repair industry are disabled people who do not have the ability to survive normally, and they rely on their skills to earn some money to subsidize their families. Their bodies are inherently inconvenient, so they don't put them in it.

And it's relatively quiet in the set, and I can do some work with peace of mind. Besides, the general small problems, put it down when you go in the market, and you can take it away when you go home, which is convenient for everyone.

Generally, there are charcoal sellers who buy grain and oil at the head of the market, and they usually drive tricycles, and the goods are not unloaded. If you need more, you will drive it directly to your home, and if you need less, you will rush back after the set.

In addition, there is a classic business in Jitou, which is to buy rat poison.

Rats may be mankind's eternal friends. Especially in rural areas, it has been unclean at all times and in all places. They rely on their tenacious perseverance and unique way of life, coupled with their strong reproductive ability, to survive with human beings.

The rat poison sellers on the big set don't discuss the quality of their rat poison, but their advertising slogans are very interesting.

It is estimated that almost everyone who has been to the big set should be familiar with it, such as: rat poison, medicine rats, big and small are caught. Three-year, five-year, before 1958. Those who came from the south, those who went to the north, and those who took the train to Beijing and Shanghai••••••

Our rat poison is made in a Chinese pharmaceutical factory, and it can't be bought in department stores. After eating our rat poison, it is numb to the mouth first, then numb the legs, blood gushing from the nostrils and eyes, the big ones jump three times after eating, and the small ones die after eating......

Rat poison, it's not worth much, you can buy it for a dollar in a pack. A dollar is not a penny, you can't make a train, you can't take a ship••••••

A little from the head of the market, there is generally a relatively spacious area, which is a place for buyers and sellers and people to and from the market to eat. There are tofu pots, haggis soup pots, soybean milk stalls, noodle stalls, as well as fried buns, steamed buns, flasks, fritters and other snack stalls.

They are generally gathered together, which is to gather popularity and help each other in business. In a relatively spacious place in the middle, there are more than a dozen Eight Immortals and some small horses scattered around.

Of course, they all have their own marks and corresponding positions, and they are only placed together for the sake of scale effect. The busiest and most lively is of course the tofu pot, because where guests can also get two bowls of old wine for a drink.

A large iron pot is burned with a split wood fire, and a large bag of whole-flavored spices and a dozen fatty pork belly are first placed in it, and it is first burned over high heat until it boils. Then I began to stack layers of smoked tofu unique to the north in a circle.

Under the simmering fire, the soup in the pot is boiling all the time, and the aroma can drift far away with the wind. As the boiled smoked tofu is taken away, new ones are immediately added to it, not of course with spices and pork belly strips, depending on the situation. From the beginning of the day to the next set, there is always a ready-made smoked tofu with an attractive aroma in the pot.

There is a special porcelain pot for boiling oil and chili sauce on the Eight Immortals, as well as three or two kinds of prepared free pickles, and garlic and vinegar bottles are also indispensable. Beside the owner, there are also large barrels of blended loose wine.

Generally speaking, smoked tofu costs two or three yuan a dollar, loose wine costs one or two yuan a tea bowl, and pork belly strips for flavor cost three yuan a piece. When the guests come, they ask for a few pieces of smoked tofu, a mixture of chili sauce and vinegar, a small plate of pickles, and a few cloves of garlic. Then order a staple food such as steamed buns from the stall, and finally pour a bowl of loose wine. It doesn't cost much in total, so you can have a nice and warm drink.

Until now, not only rural people still love it, but even some people who have moved to the city to live in it occasionally go to Daji Tofu Pot to enjoy this comfortable feeling.

After the simple traditional food stalls, you will arrive at the main stall of the big market, and you can see rows of relatively neat tall stalls lined up on both sides of the street. Generally, cloth, miscellaneous goods, ready-to-wear, shoes and hats, knitted department stores, etc. are arranged in order.

These big stalls are all old businessmen who have been in business for a long time and have relatively strong strength. Generally, there are larger three-wheeled and four-wheeled cars now, and there are more goods, and the stalls are not only fixed but also occupy a relatively large place, most of which are more than ten meters.

For example, cloth stalls are generally pulled by four-wheeled vehicles, and the weight of the goods is at least one or two tons, and it takes two or three hours to load and unload alone, and the stalls are more than 20 meters long.

Since customers on the big set generally rely on visual effects to generate the desire to buy, so Bu Lao Fan should try to show the fashionable styles and colors as much as possible.

Not only are there all kinds of rolls of cloth on the flat stall about one meter high in front, but also the popular varieties and beautiful colors that can attract the attention of passers-by are hung on the shelves two or three meters high behind them.

The businessmen in these big stalls look very solid, but every day is really hard. It's OK when the weather is good, but once you encounter bad weather, you are often caught off guard because the stalls are too big. Not only were they embarrassed in the wind and rain, but they also sometimes lost their belongings and sometimes suffered physical injuries.

To be honest, although the big stall earns a lot of money, it is really intolerable, and almost all of them are sad and hard-working full-time jobs for the husband and wife. Over the past ten years and decades, money has been earned, but often it has not been able to get a good body.

There are many people who have really fulfilled the bitter old saying, "In the first half of my life, I use my body to earn money for my children, and in the second half of my life, I look at the world with a wry smile."

At both ends of the big stall, there are also some small stalls such as relatively simple clothes, accessories and children's toys run by some young daughters-in-law.

Most of them are just a small tricycle, holding up a two- or three-meter square umbrella and hanging some small goods in it. Most of these little daughters-in-law have the mentality of trying it out, and they are flexible and small-scale operations, and they generally take advantage of the enthusiasm to work for a year and a half and hastily withdraw their troops.

Walking inside from the tall stall, there is a small space that transitions from a tall stall to a short stall. There are usually some food stalls that children love in this place, and now most of them are fried fast food.

For example, fried chicken fillet, meat sandwich cake, fried chicken wishbone snack cart, sometimes some chicken thighs and chicken wings grilled on the spot with charcoal, of course, some rock sugar gourd and other traditional delicacies are also essential.

Although many young people have slowly become aware of the health and safety issues of this open-air snack, they still can't stop the children's love. Now on the big set, at the time when students are out of school, the busiest thing is these fragrant food stalls, and there are often a large number of people waiting around the snack truck.

This kind of food stall for children is a small-scale and high-profit business that has only slowly become popular in recent years. It may be that in recent years, many young people have chosen to go out to work, and most of the people in the village are left-behind elderly and children, so this kind of fast fried food will develop so rapidly.

With the overall recession of the business in Daji, many old traders now feel that they are not as profitable as their emerging food stalls.

From the children's favorite food stalls, you will be at the center of the big market. Most of what people eat, drink and buy on weekdays is concentrated in this area.

Those who sell raw meat, cooked meat, white chicken, roast chicken, fresh fish and shrimp, dried fish roe, bean sprouts, tofu, green vegetables, ingredients, fruits, snacks, melon seeds, tea, loose wine, and so on are all concentrated in this area.

This position is also mostly occupied by veteran businessmen, and it is impossible for ordinary novices and those who sell seasonal agricultural and sideline products to easily squeeze in.

There are also some unwritten hidden rules in these transactions, which everyone must silently abide by. Anyone who violates these rules will receive a certain punishment, although sometimes the punishment is not visible on the surface.

Although supermarkets around the country are now rising at a high speed, and the business scope is becoming more and more all-encompassing. However, due to various reasons, most of the left-behind people in rural areas still habitually like to buy these daily food and drink supplies at the big market.

After all, you can pick and choose at will on the big set, which is much more convenient than the supermarket. On the big set, this section of the road is the most prosperous and congested overall. Of course, this is also the place where thieves like to haunt, because they are generally more convenient when it is crowded.

In addition to the bustling section of the big set, along the edge stalls of the sparse seasonal businessmen, you will reach the tail of the big set. It is mainly a number of stalls engaged in poultry and egg trading, commonly known as the "chicken market".

Most of the chickens raised by the old ladies in the countryside and some stupid eggs that are reluctant to eat, and occasionally some pigeons, turtle doves, pheasants, hares and other wild animals illegally caught by the idlers in the village come to join in the fun.

Speaking of stupid eggs, some old rural ladies now are also "cunning and cunning". They sometimes use some small ordinary eggs to pretend to be stupid eggs, which has only appeared in recent years, which has greatly damaged the simple and honest image of the rural elderly.

Away from the main street in the center of the big market, there is also a place specializing in pig and sheep trading not far from the larger market, commonly known as the "pig market".

Here is not only a simple business of live pigs and sheep, but also an important function, which is to breed pigs and sheep on site.

In the early years, nearby villagers brought their sows and ewes here. When you see the breeding pig and sheep in the photo, you will directly pull it to the side for breeding. Generally, the money is paid first, and there are also those who are pregnant and pay later. If you don't match it once, you have to match it again for free.

With the current large-scale breeding, the pig market has slowly lost its value and gradually disappeared, but it still exists in some remote mountain villages.

It's just that because of the immorality, the phenomenon of breeding directly on the large set does not exist. If there is a real need, it is also to send the breeding pigs and sheep to the home for breeding.

Next to the pig market, there are generally places where cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other large animals are traded, commonly known as the "bull market".

Since the big livestock has gradually withdrawn from the historical stage in the countryside, and it is generally not used in the countryside, the current bull market has slowly disappeared.

But there are still sporadic presposites in the mountainous areas of southwest Lu, because there are many mountains and hills in those places. Some are in the valleys above the mountains, where modern machinery is still unusable. As a last resort, these mules, horses, cows and donkeys are still needed to help with the farming.

Speaking of the "bull market", we have to talk about the "bull economy" that was originally active in the bull market. The "cattle economy" is a full-time group of people who are specially introduced to buy and sell large livestock in the bull market and make profits from it.

Since most of the buyers and sellers do not know each other in the bull market, it is not convenient for the two parties to negotiate directly, and many people are not very knowledgeable. Moreover, the transaction of large livestock was originally a large amount of cash trading, and everyone also had a certain degree of caution against each other.

In addition, these cattle economy is generally the nearby "capable people", not only can speak the eight sides of the exquisite popularity, but also more knowledgeable about large livestock, they can see the advantages and disadvantages of livestock at a glance, and quickly estimate its general price.

These people have a wide range of friends, have a good reputation, and are relatively reliable. Through them, both the buyer and the seller will not suffer a big loss.

Therefore, when everyone is trading large animals, they like to talk to them in the middle, let them operate in the middle, and finally complete the transaction through them. Of course, there is a certain commission to be paid, which is usually paid by the seller, just like the current agent.

The "cattle economy" generally has their conventional jargon and special way of arguing and exchanging, commonly known as "sleeve language".

"Sleeve language" is to put your hand into the other party's sleeve when the price is agreed, or cover it with a towel or something, and use your fingers to bargain, and even express other meanings.

Because the buyer sees the advantages of the livestock and does not want others to know, and sees the problems of the livestock and cannot say it in front of the seller, he chooses to use the strange way of "sleeve language" to achieve mutual communication.

"Sleeve language" is also called "pulling hands" or "sleeve in the sleeve", of course, there are also "pinch seven", "don't eight", "hook nine" and so on.

It turns out that this behavior is to protect the transaction amount of both parties to the transaction from being heard by other interested parties, so as to avoid the exposure of money and danger. However, it has slowly evolved into a bad way for the "cattle economy" to mind deceiving buyers and sellers and defrauding the price difference.

Of course, this is only a very small minority, because after all, there are no impermeable walls in the world. If the person's reputation is bad, slowly no one will use him.

In addition to the main street of Daji and the three cities, there are also places on the periphery for traditional artists from all walks of life to perform and trade. It is generally located a little further away from the main set, in a relatively clean place, usually by the mountain, by the river or in the small forest.

What are the storytellers and singers, the trick-style performers, the face-to-face fortune-telling, the incense and the soil, the endgame gambling to win or lose, the word puzzle to give cash, what the ring to play balloons, flying needles to play the compass, what flowers, birds, fish and insects, and antiques••••••

I remember that there were still a lot of these artists on the big set in my childhood, and it really brought a lot of good memories to our childhood.

With the rapid development of life now, those real Jianghu artists have slowly withdrawn from low-end places like Daji, and the rest are some small businessmen who have no artistic content, such as rings and golden eggs.

The old businessmen on the big market more or less have some habits of the rivers and lakes, and the habits of the rivers and lakes mentioned here are not hooligans in the ordinary sense, but the sense of belonging of businessmen in the rivers and lakes for self-protection in the market.

Because I have to deal with all kinds of people every day on the big set, I have to slowly develop a style of doing things in a special environment.

In fact, this kind of businessman who begs for a living at the bottom of the society must not only have the quality of hard-working and hard-working, but also have the resilience of humility and forbearance and the personality charm of insisting on self-inferiority and non-arrogance.

We must learn to integrate into this environment smoothly, but also always adhere to our own style, and make all kinds of social friends with righteousness and wealth.

In this way, we can really persist step by step in the squeeze of local forces and the fierce competition within the market, and finally occupy our own place in the big set.

If a businessman brings some righteousness, your business will often have a certain advantage over others.

Due to your excellent personality charm and good reputation, you can not only get the more cost-effective goods when you buy goods.

And even the occasional credit will not hesitate to pay the other party in the slightest, and even sometimes it doesn't matter if you sell the goods of the season and pay together. This solves the problem of hoarding goods and tying up funds, and can make your business bigger and bigger.

Because of your honesty, credibility and sincerity, you are bold and generous on weekdays, and you can hold a large number of customers when selling goods.

Once you have the desire to buy, you will be thought of first, and you will not be picky when buying. In this way, everyone will not only happily reach a deal, but also gradually become good friends, and business will naturally improve.

Of course, businessmen must have their own principles to adhere to, for example, if someone intends to forcibly occupy their long-term stalls, then they must resolutely fight back like Jianghu people defend their own territory.

Because this is not only an advantageous location that I am familiar with, but also a place where I have cultivated a long-term connection. Once lost, it is not only a humiliation of personality, but also a huge loss of business.

Therefore, when doing business on the big set, you must be smiling, cautious, polite and friendly, and at the same time, you must be faintly domineering in your momentum. Not only will your peers be in awe of you, but the thugs on the street will stay away from you, and even those thieves will not dare to attack near your stall.

Old businessmen often like to drink some wine in the market, because they can inadvertently reveal some domineering and hardness that are inconvenient to show on weekdays. It has a certain deterrent effect on those who have bad intentions, and makes others afraid of you.

Even if it is really inevitable to quarrel with someone sometimes, you can continue to drink and deliberately play drunk, and afterwards some people say that it is just time to use drunkenness to make a step down. This is also the tactfulness and sophistication that old businessmen must learn.

There is no wonder in the world, and the bazaars are also mixed.

On the big set, you can get a glimpse of the world and people, and feel the warmth and coldness; You can read the world and taste life.

There are many squabbing beings, some laughing, some crazy, and some making trouble. There are those who are really down-to-earth, there are those who follow the tide and the people follow the clouds, there are those who practice self-cultivation and hide in the city, there are those who jump up and down and make jokes, there are those who are happy with their achievements and both people and money, and there are also those who are deceitful and intrigued••••••